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As business owners consumed with the day-to-day, you may not think about solutions until you run into a major problem.

But how is the average business owner supposed to know the right solution for an unfamiliar, complex, super-particular tech problem?

In years of building web products, both on my own and since founding an agency, I’ve worked with both small startups and big brands, gathering years of experience along the way. Understanding the stress and limitations that business owners face when trying to improve a business’s technology has been a big part of my journey. 

My experiences mean that I’ve been lucky enough to see it all, and come into contact with almost every imaginable technology. And, even better – help many people navigate these issues, building a reputation for finding the right solution, no matter the size of the organization or budget.

That’s one reason why I created my web product development company, Quarry – to be a knowledgeable support system for businesses, helping owners take charge of their tech needs with confidence, guided by our team’s expertise and commitment to finding the best solutions.

The Problem: How to Navigate the Digital Maze

Imagine this: you’re a business owner who needs to manage several different websites – perhaps a restaurant owner with a portfolio of restaurants. 

You want the autonomy to update these platforms on your own because constant content refreshes are needed – updating menus, operating hours, and even seasonal specials for a restaurant. But every time a change is needed, you’re dependent on an outside developer. This not only slows you down but also adds to the frustration of not being fully in control of your digital presence.

The costs of building and maintaining multiple sites are always growing, not just in financial terms but also in the resources and time consumed. This complexity hampers growth, and makes it difficult to expand by integrating new restaurants into your ecosystem. 

With every attempt to scale by acquiring new locations or smaller businesses, you’re met with the daunting task of migrating to or integrating new sites with your preferred web platforms—a process filled with potential compatibility issues and tech problems.

Beyond the scaling issues, there’s the gnawing questions… Are you leveraging the best technology? Is there a more efficient, cost-effective way to manage your online presence? How secure are your websites, and do they comply with the latest regulations? 

The truth is – you don’t know what you don’t know, and many business owners are forced to make tech decisions for their business without a tech background. Plus, there’s the inherent difficulty in navigating a landscape that’s constantly evolving. 

This is where the concept of a system built on mono repositories comes into play – a single, unified system for all websites where updates and management can be streamlined across multiple projects.

Revolutionizing the Digital Presence of a Restaurant Group: A Real-World Success Story

Quarry worked with a growing restaurant group with big dreams. They envisioned a modern online presence for their different restaurants that also made it easy to update and modify as the business expanded, but food was their forte – not technology.

The Challenges of Growth

As the group grew, acquiring new restaurants, they found themselves entangled in a web of digital complexity. Each restaurant came with its own website, hosted on different platforms, turning what once was manageable into a formidable task as the count reached five. 

The reality of the situation began to bite:

• Staff were unable to independently update the websites with menus and operating hours.
• Customers, finding outdated information, resorted to calling the restaurants directly, leading to an operational bottleneck.
• Too many different web platforms made it hard to manage updates, resulting in websites that were not only outdated but also lacked modern functionalities and aesthetics.
• Costs spiraled with  the need to update and maintain each website individually on different platforms.
• At the heart of it all, the restaurant owner wanted to focus on what mattered most—the food and their customers.

Quarry introduced a groundbreaking approach—a unified web development project tailored to consolidate all five restaurants under one sophisticated, manageable platform. This solution was not just about aesthetics; it was about efficiency, cost savings, and preparing for a future of growth. 

The results were transformative:

A cohesive design across all websites, allowing for shared enhancements and real-time updates, ensuring a consistent and modern digital presence. And, the adoption of state-of-the-art technology meant the websites were not just beautiful but built to last, ready for the future.

The unified system significantly reduced operational costs and simplified processes, freeing up resources and time. Staff could now update the sites independently, ensuring menus and hours were always current, enhancing customer service.

With a single platform, security audits and critical updates became more straightforward and less frequent, bolstering the digital security posture across the board. Plus, the investment paid for itself within two years, with the added benefit of making future expansions smoother and faster and essentially free.

Best of all, customers now enjoyed a seamless online experience with functional, attractive websites that accurately reflected the restaurants’ quality and ambiance.

A Recipe for Success

This story is a testament to how strategic technological solutions can drastically change the way businesses operate and grow. 

With Quarry’s solution, the group achieved their vision of a modern, unified online presence and set a new standard for managing digital platforms in the culinary world. The result? A delightful blend of technology and gastronomy that satisfied both the business’s needs and the palates of their customers.

How to Implement a Unified Architectural Framework

This approach consolidates all digital assets into a single, centralized repository, streamlining the management and update process across multiple websites. This solution entails:

Centralized Codebase: All websites operate from a single codebase, making it easier to manage updates, track changes, and maintain consistency across all platforms.

Simplified Workflow: Integrating a continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline ensures that updates are pushed out reliably and efficiently, reducing the need for manual intervention.

Scalable Infrastructure: The infrastructure is designed to handle additions of new restaurant sites effortlessly, without the need to set up new hosting environments for each new entry.

Technical Empowerment: Once restaurant staff are trained on the simple new system, they’re empowered to make updates independently via a simple content management system.

The 12 Benefits of Embracing a Mono Repository for a Small Business Owner

Switching to a mono repository framework not only simplifies the technical management of multiple websites but also offers numerous strategic advantages:

Improved Customer Experiences: Customers can quickly find accurate and up-to-date information and enjoy a seamless experience with a consistent look and feel across all your sites. 

Empowering Business Owners: Regain control over your digital presence. A mono repository puts you in the driver’s seat, enabling direct influence over digital content and operational efficiency. This empowerment is a game-changer for business owners looking to navigate the digital realm with confidence and agility.

Intuitive Content Management System (CMS): All sites are now managed under a single CMS, with easy role based access control for the staff of each establishment to painlessly update website content for their respective site. This intuitive system allows staff members to make updates without the fear of disrupting the user experience, ensuring your menus and sites remain fresh and relevant.

Single Design Hub: Any design revisions or enhancements automatically propagate across all sites in your portfolio. This unified design approach ensures consistency and facilitates easy implementation of future design improvements – no developer needed.

Streamlined Maintenance Process: Bid farewell to the cumbersome process of individual site maintenance. Critical updates and security audits are now consolidated into a single, efficient workflow, drastically reducing the maintenance burden.

Cost-Effective Solution: These updates pay for themselves within 1-2 years through reduced maintenance expenses. 

Simultaneous Feature Rollouts: Deploy new features and improvements across all sites simultaneously, minimizing the effort and time traditionally required for updates and ensuring your digital presence remains cutting-edge.

Flexibility and Scalability The system’s design allows for easy incorporation of new establishments, demonstrating its ability to support business growth with minimal additional investment.

Reduced Maintenance Costs and Increased ROI: Leverage the savings from reduced maintenance costs to reinvest in projects with direct ROI, amplifying the value and impact of your digital strategy.

Future Proof: Built on cutting-edge technology, a mono repository is designed to keep your sites optimal for the next 5-10 years, benefiting from ongoing enhancements and features maintained by the OpenSource community.

POS System Integration for Real-Time Updates: (Okay, this one isn’t technically dependent on a mono repo, but we’ve included it on these types of projects because it certainly makes life easier!) Real-time menu updates, courtesy of seamless POS system integration. Ensures your website reflects the most current offerings, directly enhancing customer experience and satisfaction.

Ready to eliminate headaches with a mono repository?

Quarry would be happy to evaluate your current approach and guide you towards a more unified, efficient, and scalable web presence. Book a call to discover how our tailored solutions can meet your organization’s specific needs and goals.

Disclaimer: We love efficiency and we also believe in transparency. LLMs (Large Language Models) were used to structure the outline to save time while writing this piece.